Varmint

OH MY GOD !!!!!! This does appear to be fucking awesome, and I am currently having a bit of a salivation problem! Plus, it preserves the essential elements of traditional Brunswick Stew and just adds a few elements. Folks, if you had any doubt before, you should now realize how brilliant I am to have given this task to Dave. This is amazing, simply amazing. I can't wait.

Here's a starting list of restaurants to look at. I don't have time to list the chefs right now, but if you search for the name of the restaurant and the town, you should find lots of info. Magnolia Grill in Durham Four Square in Durham Nana's, Pop's in Durham Fearrington in Pittsboro Elaine's on Franklin in Chapel Hill La Residence in Chapel Hill Lantern in Chapel Hill Crooks Corner in Chapel Hill Enoteca Vin in Raleigh Second Empire in Raleigh Fins in Raleigh Bistro 607 in Raleigh Bloomsbury Bistro in Raleigh and The Cosmopolitan in Cary (same chef) That should be a good start.

There's quite a few good restaurants, smogle. What type of work are you looking for? What's your background and training?

Shrimp and grits is easy, and I know a good source of peeled and deveined shrimp to make it even easier. Think of it as sort of a staff meal. The outside tables will already be set up on Friday, so we could dine al fresco. Now, how to get lighting out there . . . . Gumbo is good. We should try to make it pretty simple, shouldn't we? Or should we task someone with this staff dinner??

Q- Any quick Mexican food we could whip up???

Umh, we could all just cook and eat at my house!

There will be plenty to drink -- er, I mean, to do, when you arrive!

Excellent, AD!!! When you coming down? Malawry, what's up with Friday night? At the Sweet n Tart lunch on Saturday, a bunch of people were asking about activities. I, unfortunately, won't really be able to handle much of that aspect. Weka, ditsydine -- can you help out? I think a good restaurant guide would be helpful, or you could just call me when you arrive, and I can just tell you where to go! We're still looking at about 110-130 people. Pig order was confirmed today.

Late June, I believe. It's a conference. Free trips are the best!

Rather than posting a ton of photos here, I'm going to send you to an Imagestation album -- as I did post nearly 60 photos! Only one person gave me express permission to post his or her image, so sorry about that. Plus, it's all about the food, right? Here's the link: Your Imagestation Album Anyhow, Mrs. Varmint and I had a splendid time in the Big City. We arrived at mid-day on Thursday and were escorted to Arthur Avenue, where we took in the sights, bought some salami, grappa, cannolis, big ass sammiches, cheese and other tasty treats. Later that day we headed to an inpronouncable Thai restaurant in Queens (Sripraphai), where we sampled a boatload of great dishes. Of course, being the tourists that we are, we headed over to Chikalicious for a dessert tasting. I passed out shortly thereafter. We walked over 140 blocks on Friday. Oh, we ate a bit, too, including some good bread and coffee at Pain le Quotidien (??), a papaya drink and a couple of franks at Grays, gelato at Otto (I had banana, ricotta and olive oil; Mrs. V. had caramel, chocolate, and coffee). The gelato was excellent. We then had dinner with tommy and mrs. tommy at Babbo -- we did the traditional tasting with the riserva wines. The hilights were the two pasta dishes -- papparadelle with chanterelles, stuffed pasta with ricotta & duck gizzard, served with brown butter and sage. Oh, the wines didn't suck, of course. As happy as I was at that time, no one could convince me to have my picture taken with Mario, as he was hanging out on the street. We then headed back to Otto, where I took care of my grappa craving. The next morning was a bit painful, but not too bad. We picked up an old high school friend of Mrs. Varmint's, visited the Union Square Greenmarket, and then headed to Chinatown. We joined the eGullet crew at Sweet n Tart and feasted on wonderful dishes, many of which I had never eaten before. We then walked over to Ground Zero and were amazed by the void. After exploring a number of kitchen design and houseware stores, we headed back to the hotel for a 30 minute break. The train took us back downtown to Blue Hill, where we joined Bux, Mrs, B., slkinsey and bergerka for a lovely dinner. The food was extremely good as were the wines. Plus, any time we're able to get a second plate of financiers, you can't go too wrong. After a visit in the kitchen with Chef Anthony, my lovely bride and I were struggling to stay awake. It was a long few days with way too much food. But it was great fun. Now, where should I go eat when I return in June??????

I just got back to North Cackalacky, and I wanted to thank y'all for being such great hosts. Extra thanks to dumpling for putting all of this together. I'm going to decompress for awhile before I give my hick from the sticks report. It'll be a couple of days, however, particularly for the photos. I do have elyse's express permission to post one photo of her, but I'm wondering how I could use it (a very nice photo, indeed) for extortion purposes! Anyhow, we had lots of fun in the big city, but we're happy to be back home.

I'm headed out and won't have internet access. If you need me, well, why would anyone need me??? See y'all on Saturday.

Holly, I'm not the greatest breakfast connisseur, but next time you're in Raleigh, I can take you to a few choice spots. You can even get brains and eggs at Big Eds.

We'll get the fire rocking around 8 or so on Friday evening, let it cook down substantially, and then throw the pig on around 9:30. The first several hours are crucial, as you need to keep the temperature around 200 degrees to allow for an ultra-slow and relaxed rendering of the fat. I need at least 4-5 hours of sleep Friday night, so several folks have offered to take an hour shift. By the way, it's awesome that you might come. My sister-in-law and her family (the ones you know in Salisbury), won't be making it unfortunately.

If you're going to dinner at Magnolia Grill, save it for Saturday. Otherwise, bring it on for Friday. We do need sustenance while cooking our swine!

Your lovely face has already been posted on this site, Elyse, so fret not!

Woo hoo! I just got my birthday present, 2 days early, and it's a new 5 megapixel camera. Sony DSC-V1. Thus, expect lots of pictures!!!

But how were the waitress' shoes, tommy boy?

Holly, can you comment on which oils you prefer for making fries? What about shortening, which I've found works best for frying chicken (other than lard, of course!).

Yes, Thursday. You may stay with us that night so you needn't get another room. The house is booked solid the rest of the weekend, however! That will be a lot of taters to peel, by the way, but it'll be fun. I was thinking about heading over to Allen & Son for an early dinner on Thursday.

By the way, we currently have 13 states and 2 foreign countries represented. Katie, are you still working on the citrus-cello? You realize that if you come on before Saturday, there won't be any left for the party itself!

OK, that's 2 "Regrets" in a row, plus a couple of cancellations from the PM crowd. We need some last minute commitments, too! This is going to be several days of riotous fun!!! C'mon, y'all, I even rented a port a potty!! (yeah, few things are as enticing as one of those!)

or be more confused than when he started.

Good gosh, Craig. What advice. By the way, what's your thoughts on the bond market? Oh, and do you think the Cubs will hold off and make the playoffs? Seriously, I think tommy will be owing you a big one after that advice. Now I need to figure out how to get to Italy!

Of course we haven't.